


Parental Control

by littlesalemwinchester74



Series: Parental Control [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Destiel - Freeform, F/M, M/M, Parental Control verse, SPNFamily - Freeform, Supernatural - Freeform, spnfandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-21 00:10:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6030952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesalemwinchester74/pseuds/littlesalemwinchester74
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are very few things that John and Mary Winchester agree on since their marriage went bad fourteen years ago, but if there is one thing, it is their son Dean. 26 years old with a love for one-night-stands, Dean is hardly on the path John and Mary envisioned for their eldest child. Sam is happily engaged to long-time girlfriend Jessica. Adam has been seeing Sarah for almost two years now. Jo is only twenty and less of a worry to her parents. But Dean? It is time for him to grow up and settle down, and John and Mary are prepared to take matters into their own hands to see that he does. They call on the help of Zacharia Novak, Producer of a popular reality show, to find Dean a woman. They hope that Dean will find love–and perhaps he will, but not where his parents expect. When the Producer’s son starts hanging around on set, things start heating up. Reality TV just might give the Winchesters a much-needed reality check.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Parental Control

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Parental Control! This is an Alternate Universe fic inspired by my darling Kayla. The Winchesters are not hunters. John and Mary had another child, Jo, six years before they divorced. Jo is a dancer. Sam is studying law. Dean is…well, Dean. John is married to Kate and they have Adam. Mary is single. Castiel and Gabriel are Zachariah’s sons. There, now you have the basics.

“So, Mr. and Mrs. Winchester.”

John and Mary both looked uncomfortable, but Mary was the first to speak up. “We're divorced. I decided not to go back to my maiden name because I didn't want a different last name than my kids.”

“My apologies,” Zachariah said dully, not looking up from the paperwork on the desk in front of him. “About your son...”

“Dean,” John supplied uselessly. Of course Zachariah knew their son's name. 

“Yes. Dean. I can see why you're worried, 26 is a little old to still be playing the field.” Mary didn't quite agree, but she kept her mouth shut. “And he has no interest in settling down?”

“Dean likes to explore his options,” Mary explained, feeling she had to stick up for her son. “He's always been very...adventurous. He doesn't like to feel trapped and he feels that committed relationships are too stifling for him.”

Finally Zachariah looked up and he regarded Mary with something like pity. “Many children from broken homes feel a certain reluctance towards making major commitments. It's important to understand it isn't your fault, Ms. Winchester, and to remember that you're taking the proper steps to ensure that Dean finds what he needs to live a happy, normal life.”

That fired Mary up some. “My marriage has nothing to do with Dean's attitude towards relationships. John and I were committed to each other throughout Dean's formative years. We divorced when Dean was twelve, by which time he had already developed his distaste for the idea of settling down. I am perfectly aware this is not my fault, because there is no one at fault. I also don't see how Dean has to be settled down to live a 'happy, normal life', because he's been plenty happy thus far.”

Zachariah took his glasses off and slowly lowered them to the desk. “Ms. Winchester, if you don't want my help, why are you here?”

John was giving Mary a dirty look. “That's a good question. You were all for it when we were filling out paperwork.”

Mary sighed. “I do want to help Dean. I just don't appreciate the insinuation that I had any part in his personal preferences or that my son is less than anyone else because he isn't interested in conventional ideas.”

“Of course.” Zachariah seemed eager to get things back on track and picked up his stack of papers again. “Well, the good news is it appears that Dean has a pretty specific type.”

“Hot and dirty with a great body and a sense of adventure,” John put in, grinning proudly. “All red-blooded man.” Mary rolled her eyes. 

“So we know where to start physically. But what I need from you two is a sense of Dean's personality and what sort of traits and behaviors you're looking for in a potential mate. Then we can optimize what we're after and seek out better matches.” 

It all sounded so cold and clinical, like they were breeding animals rather than trying to find love for a man who preferred lust. Mary told herself again that it was for the best, that they were trying to help Dean, and tried to convince herself to be helpful. 

“I'm sorry, I don't quite understand.” John's eyebrows were knitted together. “We're supposed to talk about Dean's traits or the traits Dean wants? Because I already told you the traits Dean wants. A good body and a sense of adventure.”

“Yes, so you said. Here, let's try this. Give me a better idea of Dean. Not of what he wants or how he acts, but of who he is as a person. Ms. Winchester, earlier you said kids. Plural. So Dean is a brother. Start there.”

“We have three kids. Dean is our oldest. His brother Sam is four years younger, and his sister Joanna is six years younger. Dean and Jo get along better than any set of siblings I've ever seen. He's supportive and loving and goes out of his way to make sure Jo is happy. He always used to stick up for her and protect her in school. Same goes for Sammy. The boys fight like brothers do, but I know Dean loves Sam and does his best to be supportive to him, as well. He even opened his heart to his half-brother Adam. Dean's smart, even though he tries to hide it. He reads novels I was reading in college like they're picture books and he can really hold his own in a debate about religion or politics or anything, really. He's outgoing and adventurous and hates to feel stagnant. He likes to learn and grow and explore and any woman he ends up with should be the same way.”

John rolled his eyes. “I say we bring in the applicants, pick the hottest one, and call it a day.”

Mary turned in her seat to face her ex husband, her eyes stormy and her voice sharp. “Dean doesn't need some trophy wife. He needs more than someone he can connect with on a physical level. He needs a partner, someone who can challenge him and meet his challenges. Someone who won't lie down and be a door mat but who won't argue for the sake of arguing. Someone who can love him as fiercely as he deserves and who deserves to be loved as fiercely as Dean can love. You haven't been around much and you don't know our son very well, but I have and I do. I raised him and I know him better than anyone on this planet, and let me tell you something, John Winchester, Dean is a wonderful young man. He loves with more intensity and passion than I have ever seen and any woman on Earth would be lucky to be loved the way he loves! My son deserves the absolute best woman this world has to offer, and he may well be the only man who can cherish her the way she deserves to be cherished!”

John and Zachariah sat silent and shocked in the wake of Mary's outburst. It was clear that she thought the world of her eldest son and wanted the very best for him. Zachariah worked with a lot of parents with varying attitudes towards their children, but he didn't think he'd ever met such a devoted mother. 

For John's part, he was overcome with guilt. It was true, he hadn't been around much and didn't know Dean as well as perhaps a father should know his son. In fact, he'd always kind of preferred Sam and thought Dean was...well, maybe not a mistake, but certainly not an achievement to be celebrated. Sam was well-read, respectful, and smart. He had that fiance of his. Dean was loud, rebellious, and cocky. All he had was an attitude problem and a sex drive higher than the damn Chrysler building. But to hear Mary tell it, Dean was wonderful. Dean was smart. Dean was kind and loving and fiercely passionate, and suddenly John was sorry he didn't know his son. 

“Thank you, Mary,” Zachariah said softly. “I think I understand Dean much better now, and I'm confident I'll be able to provide suitable contenders.” He shuffled his papers and stood. “You can come back Thursday afternoon to meet the girls. Naomi will have all the details.”

Zachariah left the room and Mary and John were left in uncomfortably prickly silence. John shifted nervously in his chair, uneasy as always when left alone with his ex wife. He stole a glance at her and noted with that same old sense of let-down that she was just as beautiful as he remembered her. Where John had grown surly and wrinkled with age, Mary was ascending gracefully into her middle-age years. Her hair was still all blonde, full and shiny in curls past her shoulders. Those long eyelashes caught the slanting sunlight when she blinked, and John remembered long afternoons of sunny silence just watching those same lashes brush across her cheeks every few seconds. Her skin was smooth and clear, her eyes still sparkling with life. The years that had been so cruel to John and been kind to Mary, caressing her gently where they had beaten him fiercely. 

“You were right, you know,” John said quietly. 

“I usually am,” Mary quipped, smirking. Then her face softened. “About what?”

“Dean. I don't know him very well. I've never even tried to get to know him. I didn't do this to help him, either. I did it because it embarrasses Kate to have a step-son his age who's still acting like he's 21.”

Mary scowled. “Kate doesn't get to have an opinion. Not about my son. Kate has her own son to worry about, she can leave mine alone. I don't care what embarrasses Kate, and I hate you for saying that anything about Dean is worthy of that embarrassment.”

“You hate me for a lot of things, don't you, Mary?”

“Yes, I do,” she answered honestly. 

John nodded, his eyes sad. “That's fair. Look, I got into this for the wrong reasons. But that doesn't matter now, because the point is I'm in it. I'm here now, I might as well make the best of it and try to help you find someone for our son. Let's just agree to work together and put him first.”

“Fine. We can't do anything until Thursday anyway, that's when Zachariah will have the girls ready. In the mean time, I suggest trying to reach out to Dean. I can't guarantee he'll be too receptive, but you can try. You can't fix the damage you've done, but maybe you can get a better understanding of him before you try to marry him off.”

They parted ways, weary of their reluctant partnership, but hoping that Thursday's auditions would be the first of many successful steps towards finding their son happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you've enjoyed this first foray into my mind baby! If you liked it please feel free to leave feedback. I can be reached at littlesalemwinchester9189@hotmail.com and my tumblr is littlesalemwinchester.tumblr.com ! I'd love to hear from all of you!


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